US President Donald Trump has issued a warning about imposing a 100% tariff on goods from Canada if the nation finalizes a trade agreement with China.
“Should Canada reach a deal with China, it will face an immediate 100% Tariff on all Canadian goods and products entering the U.S.A.,” Trump stated on Truth Social.
It remains ambiguous which deal Trump is alluding to in his social media comment. Last week, Canada’s Prime Minister Carney declared a “strategic partnership” with China, agreeing to cut tariffs.
At that moment, Trump referred to the decision as “a good thing.” However, relations between the US and Canada have become more tense in recent days after Carney mentioned in a speech at Davos that the US-led global order had been broken.
Carney further encouraged other “middle powers” to unite against economic pressures exerted by “larger powers,” although he did not directly name Trump.
Trump addressed these comments the following day in his speech, stating: “Canada exists because of the United States.”
The US president also rescinded an invitation for Canada to participate in his new Board of Peace.
On Saturday, Trump remarked in his social media post that if Carney “believes he can turn Canada into a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China to deliver goods and products to the United States, he is very mistaken.”
The BBC has reached out to the White House and Carney’s office for a response.
Canada’s US trade minister Dominic LeBlanc stated: “There is no undertaking of a free trade agreement with China.”
“What has been accomplished is a resolution on several significant tariff matters.”
LeBlanc indicated that the government aims to enhance the Canadian economy and reinforce trade relations “across the globe.”
Canada has been pursuing to reduce its trade dependency on the US, its primary trade associate, due to the unpredictability brought on by Trump’s fluctuating tariffs.
Under the agreement finalized between Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping last week, China will decrease tariffs on Canadian canola oil from 85% to 15% by March, while Canada will impose a 6.1% tax on Chinese EVs, significantly reduced from 100%.
This agreement was regarded as a significant advancement after years of fraught relations and reciprocal tariffs, potentially leading to increased Chinese investments in Canada.
Carney stated that the progress with China positions Canada “well for the new global order.”
